Shadow
by GryffindorLover1597
Summary: Instead of it just being Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash going to Cadmus, there was another...Shadow. She's a founding member of the Team. How different would it be with a new member? One thing's for sure...Shadow's no longer just a sidekick. Wally/OC ON HIATUS
1. Independence Day

**Hey Guys! I'm not dead, but since moving into a new house, the holidays, and school have taken up my time, I couldn't update as soon as I hoped. And I'm so sorry. To the readers of my other stories, I made the decision to delete some of them because I have just lost my inspiration. Just message me to let me know which stories I should continue on and which ones I should get rid of.**

**On a happier note, new story! I started watching Young Justice again and since I already had a character in mind since I first watching the show, I decided to make a story with her in it. I hope you like it and I apologize in advance to Spitfire fans. since I first watched the show, Wally has been my favorite and, though I don't have a problem with Spitfire, I really want my character to be paired with him.**

**So enjoy and remember, I own Shadow and any other character you don't know about, but don't own Young Justice because if I did, my character would so be on the show.**

* * *

**METROPOLIS  
****July 4, 12:00 EDT**

I seriously didn't have time for this. Why, of all days Frost Bite could've attacked, did it have to be today?

"Had enough yet?" the cocky, spiky-haired boy said with a smirk as I dodged a blast of ice that was aimed in my direction.

"In your dreams," I gritted my teeth as I used my telekinesis to throw him back. Frost just got angrier and sent another round of ice my way, only to be blocked by a wall of earth.

"Ah, Element, thank you for joining us," Frost sneered at my mentor, Element, who could control the four elements, fire, water, earth, and air.

While he was distracted, I got behind Frost Bite and swept my foot out, knocking him to the ground and land face first. I learned that move from Element in the past five years she's trained me. Terra and her husband adopted me back when I was five, wandering the streets with my older sister, Kris. We ran away from our foster home at the time and ended up running into some thugs in an alleyway. Terra saved us that day and Kris and I were forever grateful to her and to her husband. Anyway, back to the fight.

"I really hope this doesn't make us late," I told Element. "Today is _the_ day!"

"Relax, Shadow," my mentor said in a calming voice as usual. "We'll get there in time."

I pouted as I turned my attention to Frost, who was getting to his feet. He froze the ground in front of us, making icicles shot out. Element and I dodged them as we ran at Frost Bite, the two of us giving a simultaneous punch to the face. Frost landed on his back, unconscious.

"Now can we go?" I asked, acting like a hyper four-year-old. "Today's the day!"

* * *

**WASHINGTON, D.C.  
****July 4, 14:00 EDT**

When Element and I arrived, everyone was there. Well, except for Flash and Kid Flash. You'd think travelling at the speed of light would make them on time.

"Nice of you to show up, Shadow," Robin said as I walked over to him. He was smirking.

I rolled my eyes. "At least I'm here, right?" I turned my attention to the Hall of Justice, which was absolutely beautiful. It was even better in person.

"Today's the day," Batman said, putting a hand on Robin's shoulder.

"Welcome to the Hall of Justice," Green Arrow said.

"Headquarters of the Justice League," Aquaman continued.

"Aw man," a voice behind us said. We turned around and saw Kid Flash and Flash sliding to a halt. "I knew we'd be the last ones here."

"At least you're here," I said. "Isn't that what matters?"

He shrugged. "I guess." Then he, of course, started checking me out.

I was wearing black pants with boots that reached just below my knees, a skin tight midnight blue shirt crop top with long sleeves. I also had on a belt, which sheathed a few knives, only to be used whenever I really needed them.

"Looking good there, Shadow," Kid smirked flirtatiously, obviously liking my new outfit.

"I thought so too when I picked it out," I said, trying to hide the blush that was rising to my cheeks.

Now that everyone was here, we made our way to the Hall of Justice. Of course, tourists and fans gathered around, taking pictures.

"Is that Batman?"

"I see Flash and Flash Junior!"

"His name's Speedy."

"No, Speedy's Green Arrow's sidekick."

"Well, that makes no sense."

I tried my best to stifle a giggle at the look of Kid's face. No one ever really got his name right.

"Ready to see the inner sanctum?" Green Arrow asked Speedy.

"Born that way," Speedy replied proudly.

"I'm glad we're all here," Aqualad said.

"Have all five sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time?" Kid Flash asked.

"Don't call us sidekicks. Not after today," Speedy said angrily.

"Sorry. First time at the Hall. I'm a little overwhelmed."

"You're overwhelmed. Freeze was underwhelmed. Why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?" Robin commented.

We all entered the Hall of Justice. I swore my mouth literally dropped. We came face to face with giant statues of the founder members of the Justice League, Terra's husband, my adopted dad, being one of them.

"Oh, maybe that's why," Robin said, looking at the statues in awe.

We came up to a metal door that said "Authorized Personnel Only." It opened, revealing Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado.

"Robin, Shadow, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, welcome," Martian Manhunter said. As we started following him inside, Robin and Kid fist bumped each other, making me smile.

"You now have unlimited access to gym, our fully stocked gallery, and of course our library," the Martian said as we walked into a large room with bookcases lining the walls and a large computer in the front of the room.

"Make yourselves at home," Flash said, spreading his arms out. Kid Flash, Robin, and Aqualad sat down in the three chairs while Speedy stood. I sat down on the armrest of Kid's chair, only to have him pull me into his lap.

"I thought my lap would be much more comfortable than the armrest," Kid said when I gave him a look.

I looked in the corner of my eye and saw my mom and Flash exchange a look.

"Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of five ice villains attacking on the same day," Batman said. Then he looked at us. "We shouldn't be long."

He turned to a locked door and a scanner popped out of the wall, scanning the League members.

"Recognized: Batman 02, Aquaman 06, Flash 04, Green Arrow 08, Martian Manhunter 07, Red Tornado 16, Element 09." The doors opened, allowing access to the room that they wanted to go in.

"That's it?" an angry voice behind me said. This was not going to turn out good.

The heroes turned and looked at the angry Speedy.

"You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass," Speedy said with his arms crossed over his chest.

"It's a first step," Aquaman said. "You've been granted access few others get."

"Oh really?" Speedy mocked, gesturing above us where there was a window full of tourists taking pictures. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"

"Roy, you just need to be patient," Green Arrow said, trying to calm Roy down. It didn't work.

"What I need is respect!" Speedy turned to us. "They're treating us like kids. Worse, like sidekicks! We deserve better than this!" I could see where Speedy was coming from. On the field, I was Element's partner, but I knew there were limitations because she was still my mother. Terra saved me and Kris and I owe her everything.

Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin, and I looked at each other.

"You're kidding, right? You're playing their game? Why? Today was supposed to be _the_ day!" he angrily threw his hand down. "Step one in becoming full-fledged members of the League!"

"Well, sure, but I thought step one was a tour of the HQ," Kid Flash said.

"Except the Hall isn't the League's real HQ." Speedy had our attention now. "I bet they never told you it's just a false front for tourists and a pit stop for catching zeta beam teleporter tubes to the real thing." He motioned to the ceiling. "An orbiting satellite called The Watchtower!"

How could they have not told us that? I thought Terra and I didn't keep any secrets. I never kept a secret from her and, until now, I thought she never kept anything from me.

Our mentors gave Green Arrow a look while Batman crossed his arms and glared.

"I know, I know, but I thought maybe we could make an exception," Green Arrow said. Batman's glared hardened. "Or not."

"You are not helping your cause here, son," Aquaman said. "Stand down or…"

"Or what? You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son!" Speedy shouted. Then his voice got quieter as he turned to Green Arrow. "I'm not even his. I thought I was his partner, but not anymore." Roy ripped off his hat and threw it onto the ground in front of Green Arrow's feet. We looked at Speedy in shock. How could he quit just like that? After everything Green Arrow's done for him?

"Guess they're right about you four," Speedy said as he passed where we were sitting. We all stood up as he continued walking. "You're not ready."

Then a loud beep came from the computer and Superman's face appeared on the screen.

"Superman to Justice League. There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."

"I've had my suspicions about Cadmus," Batman said. "This may present the perfect opportunity to—" Another alarm interrupted him.

"Zatara to Justice League." Zatara popped onto the screen. "The sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response."

Batman looked at Superman. "Superman?"

"It's a small fire," Superman said. "Local authorities have it under control."

"Then Cadmus can wait." Batman pressed a button. "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."

Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and I walked up behind them, wanting to help.

"Stay put," Batman told us.

"What? Why?" Robin asked.

"This is a League mission," Aquaman said with his hands on his hips.

"You're not trained," Flash added.

"Since when?" Kid Flash asked.

"I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team." Flash guested to Batman, Aquaman, and Element.

"There will be other missions when you're ready," Aquaman said.

"But for now, stay put," Batman said, emphasizing the last part.

Element tried to catch my eye, but I turned my back to her, crossing my arms.

"Glad you didn't bring you-know-who?" I heard Green Arrow say to Martian Manhunter.

"Indeed," Manhunter said. Then they followed the others out.

How could Element do this to me? I always considered her to be my mom as I couldn't even remember my own. I trusted her and she had to do this to me!

"When we're ready? How're we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like…like sidekicks?" Kid Flash said, letting out his anger.

"My mentor, my King, I thought he trusted me," Aqualad said sadly.

"Trust? They don't even trust us with the basics. They've got a secret HQ in space!"

"Makes you wonder what else they're not telling us," I piped in.

Robin sighed. "I have a better question. Why didn't we leave with Speedy?" We all looked down.

Robin did have a point, but I could never do that to Element. I know I've mentioned it a lot, but she saved me from a horrible life on the streets and various foster homes that Kris and I could've gone to. I owed everything she's done for me.

"What is Project Cadmus?" Aqualad asked cautiously.

"Don't know," Robin said before smirking. "But I can find out." He walked over to the computer and started typing.

"Access denied," a computerized voice said. Not for long.

"Heh. Wanna bet?" A folder opened and a bunch of encrypted popped up.

"Whoa," Kid Flash said. "How are you doing that?"

"Same system as the Batcave," Robin answered.

Then he pressed the final button and the computerized voice said, "Access granted."

"All right. Project Cadmus, genetics lab here in D.C. That's all there is." That can't be right. "But if Batman's suspicious, maybe we should investigate."

"Solve their case before they do," Aqualad said. "It would be poetic justice."

"Hey, they're all about justice," Robin said.

"It's in the name," I pointed out.

Aqualad sighed. "But they said stay put."

"For the blotting out the sun mission, not this!" Robin said.

"Wait. Are you going to Cadmus? Because if you're going, I'm going," Kid said to Robin. They looked at Aqualad and me with hopeful smiles.

"You really think I'm staying here?" I questioned them. "I am so in."

"Just like that? We're a team on a mission?" Aqualad asked.

"We didn't come for a play date," Robin said.

Aqualad smiled. Just like Aqualad said. We were a team on a mission.

* * *

When Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and I arrived at Cadmus, the fire department was there trying to put out the fire.

"Help! Get us down!" two frantic scientists yelled from the top floor, where they were trapped.

"Stay put," a fireman shouted into a megaphone. "We will get you out."

Suddenly, there was an explosion from behind the scientists and the force had them flying out the window. Luckily, Kid came running up the building wall and threw them onto the roof. Unfortunately for Kid, he lost momentum and started falling. He managed to grab the window sill and was currently hanging from it.

"It's what's his name! Flash Boy!" the fireman said.

"Kid Flash!" he called down before he said something that I couldn't hear.

Aqualad, Robin, and I slowed down once we were close to the burning building.

"So smooth," Robin commented.

"Does he always have to run ahead?" Aqualad asked. "We need a plan. We—" Robin was gone. "Robin?"

Hearing his creepy laugh, we looked and saw Boy Wonder launch his grapple gun. He swung into the building and helped Kid up before they disappeared from sight.

"Does he always do that?" Aqualad asked me. I shrugged and ran over to the firemen with him.

"I need to borrow that," Aqualad said, getting out his water bearers. His eel tattoos on his arms glowed as he used the water from the hose and made a platform, which took him up to the roof.

I levitated myself up as well. "I'll get one. You get the other," I told Aqualad. He nodded.

"Step aboard," Aqualad said in a commanding voice. "Now." One of the scientists did while I used my telekinesis to lift up the other.

Aqualad and I lowered ourselves and stepped onto the window sill while we continued lowering the scientists to the ground. Once they were on the ground, Aqualad and I joined Robin and Kid Flash.

"Appreciate the help," Aqualad said sarcastically.

"You handled it," Robin said from his place at the computer, where he was hacking away. "Besides, we're here to investigate. Poetic justice, remember?"

I rolled my eyes as I joined Kid by the cabinets. "Find anything yet?"

He shook his head. "Nothing that could help us."

Then I heard the elevator doors close. Weird. They should be on lockdown. Kid and I joined Aqualad, who was staring at the elevator.

"There was something in the—" he started to say before was cut off.

"Elevators should be locked down," Kid Flash said with a frown. Robin joined us before running ahead and looking at the elevator.

"This is wrong." He brought up his holo-computer from his glove and started typing. "Thought so. This is a high speed express elevator. It doesn't belong in a two-story building."

"Neither does what I saw," Aqualad said before he walked up to the elevator and pried open the doors. I walked up behind him and saw the drop was definitely more than two stories.

"And that's why they need an express elevator," Robin said. He shot his grapple gun and jumped down the elevator shaft. Aqualad took off after Robin, followed by Kid. I used my telekinesis and floated down.

When we reached Robin, he was standing on a ledge in front of elevator doors that read "SL 26." Aqualad and KF got off the rope just as I lowered myself onto the ledge.

"Bypassing security," Robin said, doing his hacker thing. "There. Go."

Aqualad pried open the doors and entered a hallway. It was huge.

"Welcome to Project Cadmus," Robin said.

"Doesn't look welcoming to me," I muttered as Kid took off ahead of us.

"Kid, wait!" Aqualad called out to him. Too late.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on anything presences. "There's something big, but I don't know what it is."

We chased after him and found him standing in front of these giant creatures. They kind of looked like a cross between an ape and an elephant with tusks. On the back of one of those things, a little creature suddenly looked at us. Its horns glowed red.

"No, nothing odd going on here," Aqualad said sarcastically.

"That would definitely be the something big I felt," I said as we continued on down the halls. Soon we came to a large locked metal door. Robin hacked it with no problem. We froze at what we saw.

"Okay, I'm officially whelmed," Robin said.

Inside the room were rows of glass tubes, each containing what looked like a giant bug. It looked like they were giving off electricity.

"This is how they hide this massive underground facility from the world," KF explained. "The real Cadmus isn't on the grid. It generates its own power with these…things. Must be what they're bred for."

"Even the name is a clue," Aqualad said. "The Cadmus of myth created a new race by sewing dragon's teeth into the earth."

"And this Cadmus creates new life too," Robin said. He walked over to a computer. "Let's find out why." He pulled out a cord from his glove and pulled it into the computer. He pulled up his computer and started hacking. "They call them Genomorphs. Whoa, look at the stats on these things! Super strength, telepathy, razor claws. These are living weapons!"

"They're engineering an army," KF said darkly.

"But for who?" I asked as I joined the two.

"Wait, there's something else," Robin said. "Project Kr. Ugh. The file's triple encrypted. I can't—"

"Don't move!" a gruff voice called from behind us. We turned around and saw Guardian run in with genomorphs behind him.

"Wait, Robin, Shadow, Aqualad, Kid Flash?" he asked, obviously confused.

"At least he got your name right," Robin smirked at Kid while he continued hacking.

"I know you," Aqualad said. "Guardian, a hero."

"I do my best," Guardian said nonchalantly.

"Then what're you doing here?" Kid Flash asked.

"I'm chief of security. You're trespassing, but we can call the Justice League, figure this out."

"You think the League's gonna approve of you breeding weapons?" I asked angrily.

"Weapons? What'd you… What've I…" The genomorph sitting on Guardian's shoulder turned to him and its horns glowed red. "Ugh. My head." Then he straightened up. "Take them down hard! No mercy!"

The four of us readied ourselves. Robin threw down a smoke bomb to cover us.

A genomorph charged at me. I dodged and threw it against the wall. Another tackled me down and tried to pin me, but I kicked it off and sent it into another genomorph. I was ready to defend myself against another genomorph when I felt myself getting picked up.

"We're getting out of here," KF told me. He ran off, making sure Aqualad was behind us. We ran out of the room and down the hall to an elevator shaft where Robin was currently hacking into a computer.

"Way to be a team player, Rob!" Kid snapped at him as he set me down.

"Weren't you right behind me?" he questioned. I rolled my eyes as the elevator doors opened. We got into the elevator quickly. We just needed to wait for Aqualad, who was running from genomorphs.

He quickly dove and rolled into the elevator. The doors barely closed as the genomorphs ran into them.

I looked at the floor number. We were heading down. Figures.

"We're heading down?" Aqualad asked.

"Dude, out is up," Kid Flash told Robin while pointing up.

"Excuse me? Project Kr? It's down, on sub-level 52," Robin said.

"We never agreed to check it out, Robin," I said. "You just assumed that."

"Relax, Shadow. Everything'll be fine." Somehow, I didn't believe that.

"This is out of control," Aqualad muttered, passing through us. "Perhaps… Perhaps we should contact the League." We looked down. He had a good point.

The elevator dinged suddenly and the doors opened. We readied ourselves. Seeing it was clear, Robin took off.

"We are already here," Kid said.

"That isn't making the situation better," I said as I followed him out. When we finally caught up with Robin, we crouched behind some barrels.

"Which way?" Aqualad asked.

"Yeah, bizarre looking hallway one or bizarre looking hallway two?" Robin said.

"Halt!" a voice said. I looked up and saw a horned genomorph. His horns turned red as he telekinetically lifted some barrels and launched them at us. They missed, but did blow up behind us.

Robin threw a birdarang at him, but the genomorph stopped it with telekinesis and proceeded to more barrels at us, making us go down bizarre hallway two.

Kid easily ran ahead of Robin, Aqualad, and me. We just turned the corner to see KF pick up a barrel and place it in the closing door. It read "Project Kr."

"Hurry," Kid Flash said before going inside. The three of us followed. Aqualad kicked the barrel out of the way and the doors closed.

Robin was at the computer next to the door, hacking. Probably disabling the door in the process.

"I disabled the door," Robin said. "We're safe."

"We're trapped," Aqualad said.

"Uh, guys, you'll want to see this," Kid said. He pressed a button, turning on some lights.

I could not believe what I was seeing. Inside a pod was a guy who didn't look any older than me. He looked just like Superman.

"Whoa," Robin and I said in unison.

Kid Flash walked closer to get a better look. "Big K, little r, the atomic for Krypton."

"Clone?" I asked, looking at the others.

"Robin, hack," Aqualad told him.

"Right, right," he said before plugging his cord into the computer. "Weapons designation Superboy. A clone force grown in sixteen weeks!" Robin's eyes widened. "From DNA acquired from Superman!"

"Stolen from Superman," Aqualad corrected.

"No way the big guy knows about this," Kid Flash said.

Robin looked back at his holo-computer. "Solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation 24/7."

"And these…creatures?" Aqualad asked, pointing to the little creatures above Superboy's head.

"Genomorph gnomes. Telepathic. Force feeding him an education."

"And we can guess what else," Kid said. "They're making a slave out of, well, Superman's son."

"Now we contact the League," Aqualad said. He pressed the Atlantean symbol on his belt while the rest of us press our coms.

"No signal," Robin said.

"We're in too deep, literally," KF said. He looked back at Superboy. "This is wrong."

"We can't leave him like this," Robin agreed. Aqualad thought about it.

"Set him free. Do it," he told Robin. Robin quickly opened the pod. I watched as Superboy's hand clenched and the genomorphs' horns glowed red.

"Guys, maybe this was a bad idea," I said as Superboy awakened. He flung himself at Aqualad, pinning him down and punching him in the face.

Kid, Robin, and I raced over and latched ourselves onto him.

"Whoa. Hang on, Supey," KF said.

"We're on your side," I added. I watched as Superboy freed his arm from Kid's grip and punched him, sending straight through a glass tube. I got off of Superboy and went over to Kid. He was out cold.

I turned around and saw Robin set off a smoke bomb in Superboy's face. Aqualad used the distraction to kick Superboy in the chest, sending him into the control panel. Superboy stood up as Robin shot his Taser at him. Though it hit Superboy in the chest, it had no effect on him. Instead, Superboy grabbed the cords, pulling Robin towards him, and slammed him on the ground. He tried to crush Robin until threw him off.

Aqualad and I check on Robin. We managed to get him to his feet before he fell unconscious. Aqualad and I stood up as Superboy started walking towards us.

Aqualad held out his hand to stop Superboy. "We are trying to help you!"

Superboy ignored him and charged at us. Aqualad and I dodged as Superboy punched the floor. Aqualad tackled Superboy into a wall and went to punch him, only Superboy caught his fist and kicked Aqualad off.

I went to kicked Superboy in the back while he was paying attention to Aqualad, but he caught my ankle and threw me into a wall, hard. I banged my head onto the floor and managed to see Aqualad's eel tattoos light up with electricity before I slipped into a dark abyss.

* * *

**So here's the first chapter. Let me know if Shadow seems like a Mary-Sue and I'll fix that. And let me know who you think Shadow's adopted dad is. And how do you like Element? Please review guys! I hope you liked this chapter.**


	2. Fireworks

**Hey Guys! So here's chapter 2 and I hope you enjoy it!**

**Remember, I do not own Young Justice. I only own my own characters**

* * *

**CADMUS  
****July 5, 00:01 EDT**

"_Time runs short… You must awaken… You must awaken now!"_

I opened my eyes, gasping. The first thing I noticed was Superboy staring at us. The second would be that I couldn't move. My hands were restrained and I was in some pod thing. Great, just great.

"W-what? What do you want?" I looked to my left and saw Kid Flash with a panicked look on his face. I looked ahead and saw Superboy staring at him. "Quit staring. You're creeping me out!"

"Uh, KF, how about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look," Robin said from my right.

"We only sought to help you," Aqualad said from the other side of Kid.

"Yeah. We free you and you turn on us. How's that for gratit—" Aqualad interrupted Kid.

"Kid! Please be quiet now. I believe our new friend was not in full control of his actions."

"W-what, what if I… What if I wasn't?" Superboy said.

"He can talk?" Kid asked.

"Yes, he can," Superboy said angrily. We all looked at KF and glared.

"Not like I said it," he defended.

"And that's supposed to make it better?" I questioned. He glared back at me.

"The genomorphs taught you," Aqualad said. "Telepathically."

"They taught me much," Superboy said. "I can read, write. I know the names of things."

"But have you seen them?" Robin asked. "Have they ever actually let you see the sky? Or the sun?"

"Images are implanted in my mind, but no, I have not seen them."

"Do you know what you are?" Aqualad asked. "Who you are?"

"I am the Superboy, a genomorph. A clone made from the DNA of the Superman. Created to replace him should he perish. To destroy him should he turn from the Light." I exchanged a look with Robin and Kid Flash.

"To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration," Aqualad began cautiously, "but like Superman, you deserve a life of your own. Beyond that solar suit, beyond your pod, beyond Cadmus."

Superboy's face twisted into anger. "I live because of Cadmus! It is my home!"

"Your home is a test tube," Robin said. "We can show you the sun."

"Uh… Pretty sure it's after midnight, but we can show you the moon," KF said.

"We can show you, introduce you to Superman," I added. I was sure for a second that Superboy's face lit up.

"No, they can't." I looked up and saw a man with graying brown hair pulled into a ponytail at the entrance with Guardian and the woman KF had knocked down earlier by his sides. They each had a genomorph on their shoulder. "They'll be…otherwise occupied." The man turned to the woman. "Activate the cloning process."

"Pass!" Robin called. "Batcave's crowded enough."

"And I can just phase through just about anything you throw at me," I said. I started to feel myself phase, but then cried out in pain when electricity shocked me.

"But not before you receive an electric shock." The man turned to Guardian. "And get the weapon back in its pod!"

"Hey! How come he gets to call Supey an it?" Kid asked. I gave him a look. "What?" I shook my head and turned my attention to the scene before us.

Guardian approached Superboy and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Help us," Aqualad pleaded. Superboy shrugged of Guardian's hand and glared at him.

"Don't start thinking now," the man said. The genomorph on his shoulder jumped onto Superboy's and its horns glowed red, erasing all emotion from Superboy's face. "See, you're not a real boy. You're a weapon and you belong to me." That's not creepy. The man paused. "Well, to Cadmus. Same thing! Now get back to your pod!"

Superboy turned around and walked out, the doors closing behind him.

The man turned to the woman and nodded. She typed in some commands and two robotic arms with four needles popped out. They attached themselves to my chest. Electricity and pain coursed through my body.

I cried out in pain and just as the pain came, it went. I sighed in relief as I looked up and saw Superboy.

The man glared at him. "I told you to get back to your—"

He never finished as Superboy pushed him, Guardian, and the horned creature out of the way.

"Don't give me orders," Superboy growled before approaching us.

"You here to help us or fry us?" Kid asked. Superboy squinted like he was trying to use heat vision, but nothing happened.

"Huh, I don't seem to have heat vision, so I suppose helping is my only option." Wow, who knew this guy had a sense of humor?

Robin unlocked his restraints and jumped down, massaging his wrists. "Ugh, finally. Lucky Batman isn't here. He'd have my head for taking so long."

"Seriously?" KF said. "That's what you're worried about? The whole League will have our heads after tonight."

"Unfortunately, Kid's got a point," I said as Robin pressed a button and the arms were lowered and the pods opened.

"Free Aqualad," Robin told Superboy. "I'll get Kid Mouth."

"Don't you give me orders either," Superboy said before he jumped up and tore off Aqualad's restraints.

"Shadow, think you have the energy to phase through?" Robin asked as he unlocked Kid's restraints.

"Yeah," I replied before I felt myself slipping through and landing on the floor with a thud.

KF helped me up and onto his back. "We can't have you falling behind on us." I smiled as we took off running.

"Y-you'll never get out of here," the man shouted. "I'll have you back in pods before morning!"

"That guy is not whelmed," Robin said. "Not whelmed at all." He threw explosives at the containers that held our DNA.

"What is it with you and this whelmed thing?" Kid asked before we continued running.

"We are still 42 levels below ground," Aqualad stated, "but if we can make the elevator…" We skidded to a halt as those giant genomorphs blocked our path. I jumped off of Kid's back as we looked behind us. More genomorphs were coming out of glowing red sacks.

I dodged quickly as one of the giant genomorphs tried to crush us. Kid, Aqualad, Robin, and I leaped over it while Superboy stayed behind, ready to take down anything that stood in his way.

We managed to make it around all of them, but then we heard Superboy fighting the elephant-like genomorphs, causing some rocks to fall from the ceiling.

"Superboy! The goal is escape, not to bury ourselves here," Aqualad shouted to him.

"You want escape?" Superboy shouted back. He took one unconscious genomorph and threw it into the two last remaining genomorphs. With that, we all ran to the elevator.

Aqualad quickly pried open the door. Kid jumped onto a ledge while Robin shot his grapple gun upwards. I levitated myself to a ledge. I managed to see Superboy, holding Aqualad, jump up a few floors before slowing down and starting to fall.

"I'm falling," I heard Superboy say. Luckily, Robin threw one of his birdarangs and Aqualad managed to catch it.

"Superman can fly. Why can't I fly?" Superboy asked sadly.

"Don't know, but it looks like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound," KF said. "Still cool." We helped Superboy down. "Thank you."

"Guys!" Robin shouted. I saw the elevator start to come down. "This'll have to be our exit.

Superboy and Aqualad punched open the elevator doors open. Robin, Kid Flash, and I managed to get out of the shaft just as the elevator whizzed by.

A group of genomorphs started running to us. We quickly made a left and continued running.

"Go left!" Superboy suddenly called out. "Left!"

Kid, being the one in front as usual, did as he was told and the rest of us followed.

"Right!" Superboy shouted. We listened to him and turned right.

Only we came face to face with a dead end. Great.

"Great directions, Supey! You trying to get us repodded?" KF asked as Robin, Aqualad, and I ran up behind them.

"No, I don't understand," Superboy said.

"Don't apologize," Robin said. "This is perfect!"

And that's how we ended up crawling in the vents. The order went Robin, Aqualad, me, Kid, and then Superboy. Leave it to me to get stuck in front of the most perverted, flirtatious guy on the team.

I could literally feel his eyes burning holes in the back of my butt.

"KF, if you continue staring at my butt, I'll seriously scramble your brain so that you won't be able to tell which day of the week it is." He didn't say anything, obviously having no witty comeback for once.

"At this rate, we'll never get out," Kid complained.

"Shh," Superboy shushed Kid. "Listen." We looked behind us and strained to hear the distant scratching noises of the genomorphs.

"We need to get out of here, like now," I said. We quickly found another vent and jumped out.

Robin pulled up his holo-computer and started hacking the system. A few seconds later, he said proudly, "I hacked the motion sensors."

"Sweet," Kid said.

"Still plenty of them between us and out."

"But I finally got room to move." Kid slipped his goggles on and dashed into the stairwell next to us. We followed him.

Above us, I sensed a group of genomorphs blocking our way before KF pushed them to the side.

"More behind us," Robin said, looking at his computer. I took a glance back and saw more genomorphs running after us. Superboy kicked the stairwell and the stairs beneath the genomorphs fell down.

We continued following Kid as he dashed up the stairs. Once we made it through the door and into the hall, lights started flashing and sirens started blaring. I looked ahead and saw a large door sliding shut, cutting us off from the exit.

And then I saw Kid sitting on the ground, rubbing his head. He must've slammed into the door. Ouch. That had to hurt.

"We're cut off from the street," Aqualad said.

"Thanks. My head hadn't noticed," KF said.

"You okay, KF?" I asked as I helped him up.

"Much better now, beautiful." I rolled my eyes, but smiled at his flirting.

Superboy and Aqualad tried to pry open the doors, but nothing worked. I concentrated hard, but even with the help of my telekinesis, we couldn't get the doors open. Robin was on his computer, hacking.

"Can't hack this fast enough," he said, turning it off. Genomorphs were coming towards us. "This way!" He kicked open a door.

We ran through the door, only to be greeted by an army of genomorphs and Guardian. We were surrounded. The five of us readied ourselves for a fight. The horns of the little genomorphs glowed red and I became light headed. Then I slumped to the floor, unconscious.

I slowly started coming to. My head hurt like crazy. Did I get hit by a bus or something?

My eyes were still closed when I heard Superboy say, "I chose freedom."

I opened my eyes and saw Kid extending a hand to me. I accepted it with a smile as he helped me back to my feet.

"Guardian?" Aqualad asked cautiously. I looked at Guardian, who didn't have a genomorph on his shoulder.

"Go," he said. "I'll deal with Desmond." I'm taking a wild guess here, but Desmond must've been the crazy wacko who tried to clone us.

"I think not," a voice said from behind Guardian.

The genomorphs split and turned around to see Desmond.

"Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus." In his hand was a test tube full of glowing blue liquid. He drank the liquid and started to convulse.

He fell to the floor as his lab coat ripped. We all watched in horror as his skin ripped off of his body, being replaced by blue/gray layer underneath. His irises were nothing but red and he was almost as tall as the giant elephant genomorphs.

"Everyone back!" Guardian said before he charged at Desmond, only to be swatted away into a wall.

Superboy charged next, being able to punch him in the face, but Desmond punched him back. Superboy composed himself and started rapidly punching Blockbuster. Blockbuster punched him back. Superboy jumped in the air, ready to attack Blockbuster until he jumped up and through the ceiling, taking Superboy with him. The rest of us ran under the hole that was left in the ceiling.

"Okay, that's one way to bust through the ceiling," Robin said, shooting his grapple gun.

"You think lab coat planned that?" Kid asked just before he and Rob went through the hole.

"I doubt he is planning anything anymore," Aqualad said. I levitated Aqualad and me up.

We landed just as Superboy broke free of Blockbuster's hold on him. Blockbuster then grabbed him and threw him at us.

I didn't have enough time to react as Superboy crashed into my and Aqualad.

"You okay there, babe?" Kid asked as he helped me to my feet.

"Never better," I said to him. We readied ourselves for a fight.

Blockbuster roared at us, making us take action. KF accelerated and slid in between his legs. Superboy and Aqualad simultaneously punched him in the face. Kid was on all fours as Superboy and Aqualad punched Blockbuster, causing him to trip and fall over Kid's back.

"Learned that one in kindergarten," he smirked.

Robin flipped over KF and threw his birdarangs. They didn't do anything though. Blockbuster just swatted them away like they were flies.

Blockbuster quickly got up and charged at Superboy, pushing him into a column. Superboy managed to get a good punch in, in the face too, before Blockbuster retaliated and punched Superboy in the face. He was about to do it again until Aqualad intervened. Using his water whip to propel himself forward, Aqualad changed into a mace. Aqualad was about to hit Blockbuster with it, but he caught it and threw Aqualad. Then Blockbuster threw Superboy to the side and into another column.

I turned invisible and snuck up on Blockbuster, turning visible once I got him in the jaw. He grabbed my leg and threw me at Superboy, causing the two of us to hit the floor with a large piece of concrete on top of us.

I wince and looked up in time to see KF get thrown in Aqualad and the two hit the wall. Blockbuster rammed into Aqualad and they slammed into another pillar.

I phased through Superboy and the concrete and raced over to Kid.

"You okay, KF?" I asked as I helped him to his feet.

"Yeah."

I looked up as Blockbuster punched Aqualad again. The columns must've been unbalanced because the building shook.

"Shadow, KF, get over here!" Robin called out to us. Kid picked me up and raced us over to where Robin was with his holo-computer out.

He explained to us his plan. "Got it?"

"Got it," Kid said as I nodded.

"Go."

I stood behind one of the columns Robin had pointed to. I phased through it just enough where my upper body stuck out.

"Oh ugly!" I called out, catching Blockbuster's attention. "I'm over here!" He charged at me. I prepared myself to move. I phased completely through the column as Blockbuster smashed through it. He turned around and roared at me. He was about to come at me if KF didn't come flying out and punched in him in the face.

He tumbled to the ground with a piece of skin in his hand. KF smirked. "Got your nose!" That got his attention. Blockbuster dropped Superboy and went after the speedster, who ran off to one of the columns. "Come and get me you incredible bulk!"

Kid managed to run out of the way as Blockbuster smashed the column, only some debris hit him as he made his escape. He slid on the ground and managed to roll out of Blockbuster's way before he got smashed. Kid tried to run off, but Blockbuster punched him in the back, sending him flying.

I flew behind Blockbuster and threw some concrete at him, getting his attention. What I wasn't expecting was getting grabbed by my ankles and getting thrown into a column.

"Ugh." I moaned as I slowly got up. KF managed to get Blockbuster's attention again and had him punching out another column.

I saw Robin marking an X on the ground as Aqualad covered it with water. Kid slid through it, spreading it around. While I telekinetically pushed Blockbuster down, Superboy punched him, adding more force and making Blockbuster fall harder and faster onto the ground. Then Aqualad electrocuted the water.

"Move!" Robin shouted and we all ran for the exit. I heard Robin's birdarangs go off as we continued running. I felt someone jump on top of me as the rest of the building caved in on us. Then the world went dark.

Finally, after everything seemed to calm down, Superboy lifted up a large slab of concrete off of us and Kid was still holding onto me.

"Uh…KF, you can let go of me now," I told him, my cheeks turning a light pink.

Kid let go of me quickly. "Oh, right." He started blushing too. We kept glancing at each other until Aqualad attracted our attentions.

"We…did it," he said, trying to catch his breath.

"Was there…ever any doubt?" Robin asked. He and Kid gave each other a high five. A crack was heard and the two winced, grabbing their ribs. I checked myself for cuts, making notice of one on my upper arm.

"See?" Kid said, getting Superboy's attention. "The moon." He gestured upwards.

We all looked up at the moon that lit the night sky. Then a tiny figure appeared, getting bigger as it got closer.

"Oh and Superman," Kid said. "Do we keep our promises or what?"

"I am so dead," I muttered as the other League members showed up, including my mother.

Superboy stepped forward to stand in front of Superman, who narrowed his eyes at the younger Kyrptonian clone. Superboy lifted up a corner of his ripped suit to show the S symbol on his chest. Superman's eyes widened with disbelief. Superboy looked hopeful. He just wanted to be accepted. I saw Superman's face harden. That's not good.

"Is that what I think it is?" Batman asked from behind Superman.

"He doesn't like being called an it," Kid whispered in a sing-song voice.

"I'm Superman's clone," Superboy announced. You could've cut the tension with a knife. League members exchanged wary glances at each other.

Batman narrowed his eyes at us. "Start talking."

Robin and Aqualad told the League what happened since those two were pretty much our leaders. Once we were done, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, both Green Lanterns, and Captain Atom flew away with Blockbuster.

Superboy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin, and I were all huddled together, waiting for the League to decided what to do with us.

I saw Superboy turn around and look at Superman, who was talking to Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter. Sensing his look, Manhunter put his hand on Superman's shoulder, causing Superman to turn around and look at Superboy. Superman made his way over to us.

He sighed. "We'll, uh, we'll figure something out for you. The League will, I mean. For now, I better make sure they get that Blockbuster creature squared away." Then he flew away without a word, without a second glance back.

"Cadmus will be investigated." We turned around and saw Batman, Flash, Aquaman, and Element make their way over to us. They didn't look happy either. "All 52 levels, let's make one thing clear—"

"You should've called," Flash interrupted.

Batman continued on, dismissing Flash's interruption. "End results aside, we are not happy. You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders, and endangered lives."

"Needless to say you will not be doing this again," Element said, crossing her arms.

Aqualad stepped forward. "I am sorry, but we will."

"Aqualad, stand down," Aquaman ordered.

"Apologies my King, but no." Aquaman was surprised. "We did good work here tonight. The work you trained us to do. Together, on our own, we forged something powerful, important."

Flash spoke up. "If this is about your treatment at the Hall, the four of you—"

"The five of us," Kid interrupted. "And it's not."

"Batman, we're ready to use what you taught us," Robin said, stepping forward. "Or why teach us at all?"

"Robin has a point," I spoke up. "You guys trained us, yet you set limitations, not letting us live up to the potential we have. What we did tonight proves that we are more than capable of doing things beyond what we've tackled in the past."

"Why let them tell us what to do?" Superboy questioned angrily. He stepped forward. "It's simple, get on board or get out of the way."

We looked at the League.

"I see… Three days." We looked at Batman with smiles. He just glared at us and walked off with a swish of his cape. Robin followed, giving us a wave goodbye.

"So we've got three days," Kid said. "That's not too bad."

"What about Superboy?" I asked.

Kid smiled. "Hey Supey! How about you come stay with me?"

I smiled before glancing at Element. "I gotta go, but I'll see you guys in three days." I gave Aqualad, Superboy (which was awkward), and Kid a hug. KF's hug lasted a bit longer before I pulled away and walked over to Element.

"How mad are you at me?" I asked her as we headed to the nearest zeta tube to head home.

"I'm not mad," she told me. "I'm just glad you're all right and a bit disappointed. Why didn't you call?"

"We tried, actually, right after we found Superboy."

"You know what I mean."

"I guess we just wanted to prove to you that we weren't kids, that we could do it on our own."

"And you did." We exited the zeta tube and changed into our civvies. I smiled as we walked to our apartment. "You did handle it well."

"Thanks." We entered the apartment. I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl. I was starving, considering I hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday. "Does this mean I'm off the hook?"

"Absolutely not," Dad said as he came in through the front door.

"You're grounded for three weeks," Mom said.

Dad looked at Mom. "Three weeks? Terra—"

"Clark, we'll talk about it later. Let's just get some sleep now." I nodded and headed to my room.

"So how'd it go?" a pajama clad Kris asked, leaning against my doorway.

"Let's just say things went different as planned," I said before changing into my pajamas and climbing into bed, welcoming sleep with open arms.

* * *

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****July 8, 8:04 EDT**

I walked into the cave with Element wearing my civvies; a baggy maroon sweater that went down to my mid-thighs, a dark red camisole underneath, gray leggings, black combat boots, glasses with plastic lenses, and my hair pulled back into a high ponytail. I saw some Leaguers flying around carrying various parts to different places. In the center stood Batman and the others. I quickly made my way over, giving smiles to my friends before giving Batman my attention.

"This cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League," Batman explained to us. "We're calling it into service again. Since you five are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms. Red Tornado volunteered to live here and be your supervisor. Black Canary's in charge of training. I will deploy you on missions."

"Real missions?" Robin asked.

"Yes, but covert."

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff," Flash said and then gestured to himself. "There's a reason we have these big targets on our chests."

"But Cadmus proves the bad guys are getting smarter," Aquaman said.

"Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly," Element added.

"The six of you will be that team," Batman said.

"Cool! Wait, six?" Robin said confused.

Batman looked behind us. We turned around and saw Martian Manhunter walking in with a girl. She looked about my age with green skin and auburn hair. "This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian."

"Hi," she said shyly.

I walked over to her and smiled. "Hey, I'm Shadow. Glad to have another girl around."

"It's nice to meet you." She smiled back.

"Welcome aboard," Wally said, pushing me to the side. I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm Kid Flash. That's Robin, Aqualad. It's cool if you forget their names."

She clasped her hands together. "I'm honored to be included." The rest of the guys, except for Superboy, made their way over to us.

Robin turned around and called over to Superboy, "Hey Superboy! Come meet Miss M!"

Superboy made his way over to us. Miss Martian's shirt changed from white to black as she looked away shyly. "I like your T-shirt."

Superboy smiled and Robin elbowed him with a grin before Wally raced over to where I was standing and put an arm around me. I smiled at him, getting a cheeky one back.

"Today is the day," Aqualad stated proudly.

He was right. Today was the day of a new life for us. And I was looking forward to it.

* * *

**And that's the end of the chapter! I hope you guys liked it. And if you haven't guess already, Shadow is the adopted daughter of Superman or Clark Kent if you will and Terra's his wife. I really hope you review guys because that's what I look forward to the most.**


	3. Welcome to Happy Harbor

**Hey guys! It's almost two in the morning, but I couldn't help myself. I really wanted to get this chapter in. You finally get to know Shadow's real name and I hope you like it.**

**I don't own Young Justice, but Shadow and other not recognizable stuff are a figment of my imagination, so she belongs to me.**

* * *

**STAR CITY  
****July 17 23:16 PDT**

Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and I came to the decision of asking Speedy to join the team. It may sound a little weird, considering after what happened at the Hall of Justice, but Roy was still our friend and it only seemed right to ask him to join.

That's how we ended up at the docks of Star City.

Speedy was fighting some goons of Brick. They were pointing their guns at Speedy until Kid zoomed over and took some of them. Robin threw at one goon, knocking his gun out of his hand, laughing the creepy laugh of his, while I telekinetically threw a fallen gun at another goon, knocking him to the ground. Aqualad used his water whip to knock the last goon out.

Brick was throwing rocks at Speedy, who was, obviously, shooting arrows at him. Speedy dodged one rock while Aqualad destroyed it. Speedy shot an arrow at Brick and it exploded.

"The cave is perfect," Aqualad told Speedy. "It has everything the team will need."

"For covert missions," Robin added just after he jumped down from a crate. "You know, spy stuff."

"And wait until you see Superboy and Miss Martian, but I saw her first," Kid said as he sped over while I flew over. I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms, and mentally pushed Wally from behind. "Hey!"

"It would be really nice if you'd join, Speedy," I added. "It's really great."

Before we got an answer, Brick threw another large rock at us. Speedy and Robin dove out of the way while Kid sped off and I flew up. Aqualad stayed and smashed it. Speedy shot some more arrows, but they had no effect.

Brick laughed. "Tell Arrow he shouldn't send kids to do a man's job." Speedy just took out another arrow and aimed it. Brick spread his arms out. "Go ahead."

The arrow came into contact with him and started foaming, leaving Brick down for the count.

"High density polyurethane foam," Kid said, skidding to a halt as I landed right next to him. "Nice." Speedy just turned and walked away. I crossed my arms.

"So Speedy, you in?" Robin asked, leaning against a crate.

Speedy looked at him. "Pass. I'm done letting Arrow and the League tell me what to do. I don't need a baby-sitter or a clubhouse hangout with the other kids. Your Junior Justice League is a joke. Something to keep you busy and in your place. I don't want any part of it." Then he disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****July 18 11:16 EDT**

"_Recognized: Shadow B04."_

I smiled as I walked out of the zeta tube, my brown hair swishing with each step. I was wearing my usual outfit, an oversized sweater over a camisole and leggings with my boots. And like my dad, I wore glasses with plastic lens over my dark blue eyes because I didn't wear a mask when I was fighting the bad guys.

"Hey guys," I greeted Superboy, Aqualad, and Miss Martian.

"Hi Shadow," Miss Martian said with her usual cheeriness. I walked over and stood in front of the holographic map with them. They were tracking Red Tornado. It was obvious why. We were hoping he'd have a mission for us because we were seriously bored.

"_Recognized: Robin B01; Recognized: Kid Flash B03."_

The two boys looked around happily before running over to us.

"Did you ask him?" Robin asked eagerly.

"What did he say?" Wally asked.

"He's arriving now," Aqualad answered.

"Then what're we waiting for?" Wally exclaimed before we followed him to meet Red Tornado outside the cave.

We walked out just as Red Tornado was landing.

"Red Tornado!" Wally greeted the android.

"Greetings," Red Tornado said in his robotic voice. "Is there a reason you intercept me outside the Cave?"

"We hoped you had a mission for us," Aqualad said.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility."

"But it's been over a week and nothing—" Robin started, only to be cut off by Tornado.

"You'll be tested soon enough, but for the time being, simply enjoy each other's company."

"This team is not a social club," Aqualad said.

"No," Tornado agreed, "but I am told social interaction is an important team building exercise. Perhaps you can keep busy by familiarizing yourself with the Cave." He walked past the six of us and headed inside.

"Keep busy," Wally muttered, hitting Robin in the shoulder lightly.

"Does he think we're falling for this?" Robin asked.

"Oh," Miss Martian said. "I'll find out." She turned to Red Tornado with a concentrated look on her face.

"_Recognized: Red Tornado 16."_

She closed her eyes, a bit disappointed. "I'm sorry. I forgot he's a machine—inorganic. I cannot read his mind."

"Nice try though," Wally said. "So…" He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You know what I'm thinking right now?"

"We all know what you're thinking right now," I said, elbowing him in the back. "I didn't even have to read your mind to figure it out."

"And now we tour the clubhouse," Aqualad said in an unamused voice.

"Well, Superboy and I live here. We can play tour guides," Miss Martian said. We all looked at Superboy.

"Don't look at me," he said.

"We won't," Wally said quickly before turning back to Miss Martian. "A private sounds much more fun."

"She never said private," Robin snapped.

"Team building," Aqualad said. "We'll all go."

We all turned around and followed Miss Martian. I tripped Wally as I made my way to walk with our resident Martian. "So, this would be our front door." She motioned to the entrance we were just walking into.

"And this would be the back." We just walked out the back of the cave and onto a ledge that overlooked the harbor. "The cave is actually the entire mountain."

"It was hollowed out and reinforced by Superman and Green Lantern in the early days of the League," Wally said as we walked back inside. He was obviously trying to impress her.

"Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?" Superboy asked.

"The cave's secret location was…compromised," I answered.

"So they traded it in for a tourist trap? Yeah, that makes sense."

"If villains know the cave, then we must be on constant alert," Miss Martian said.

Robin reached up and grabbed her hand. "The bad guys know we know they know about the place so they'd never think to look here." Wally walked up and put a hand on Robin's causing the latter to release Miss Martian's hand.

"Uh, he means we're hiding in plain sight," he explained.

"Ah, that's much clearer," Miss Martian said, still unsure.

I saw Superboy sniffing the air and looked at him as he said, "I smell smoke."

Miss Martian gasped. "My cookies!" Then she took off flying.

We followed her to the kitchen and watched as she levitated a tray of black, burnt cookies out of the oven and onto the kitchen counter. They kind of looked like hockey pucks.

"I was trying out Grammy Jones' recipe from episode 17 of uh…heh…never mind," she trailed off nervously.

"I bet they'd have tasted great," Robin said.

"He doesn't seem to mind," I added, gesturing to Wally.

It wasn't a surprise to see Wally with two cookies in his hand, already eating one of them. We all looked at him.

"I have a serious metabolism," he explained.

"I'll…make more?" Miss Martian asked more than stated.

"It was sweet of you to make any," Aqualad said.

"Thanks Aqualad."

"We're off duty. Call me Kaldur'ahm. Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."

"I'm Wally." Wally leaned against the island. "See? I already trust you with my secret ID. Unlike Mr. Dark Glasses over here." Wally gestured to Robin, who scowled with his hands on his hips. "Batman's forbidden Boy Wonder from telling anyone his real name." Robin was glaring at Wally from behind his glasses.

"And my name's Nora," I told her with a smile.

"Are you sure you don't wanna tell her your real name, Blue Eyes?" Wally asked with a smirk.

I glared at him before turning to Miss Martian. "It's really Eleanor, but just call me Nora."

"Mine's no secret. It's M'gann M'orzz. But you can call me Megan. It's an Earth name, and I'm on Earth now."

Superboy started walking out of the kitchen until he whirled back around and snapped, "Get out of my head!"

Then I heard a voice in my head that sounded extremely similar to M'gann's and my friends holding their heads in their hands. _"What's wrong? I don't understand. Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically."_

"M'gann, stop," Kaldur scolded firmly. "Things are different on Earth. Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy."

"Besides, Cadmus's creepy little psychic G-Gnomes left a bad taste in his brain," Wally said.

"I-I didn't mean to—" M'gann started.

"Just stay out," Superboy growled before stalking off and sitting on the couch.

We all looked at each other until M'gann hit herself in the forehead. "Hello Megan! I know what we can do." Then she flew off.

I looked at the others and shrugged before we followed her. Then she went back to get Superboy, who she managed to come.

We entered the elevator, which we took down the hangar. When the doors opened, M'gann exclaimed happily, "It's my Martian Bio-Ship."

In the middle of the hangar was a red oval ship. It didn't look like it could fly.

"Cute," Wally said. "Not aerodynamic, but cute."

"It's at rest, silly." M'gann giggled. "I'll wake it." She waved her hand and the ship transformed into a larger and more aerodynamic ship. It spun around so the back was facing us and the door opened. "Well, are you coming?"

"Oh yeah," I said, walking inside with the others behind us. Once inside, six seats appeared.

"Strap in for launch," M'gann said.

I took the seat in front of Wally, who sat on M'gann's left. The minute I sat down, seatbelts materialized and wrapped around my torso in an X.

"Awesome," I muttered.

"Red Tornado, please open the bay doors," M'gann requested. The doors opened and the ship sailed out smoothly.

"Incredible!" Robin exclaimed.

Wally sighed dreamily. "She sure is." I raised an eyebrow as we turned to look at him. "I-I mean the ship, which, like all ships, is a she." He crossed his arms.

"Fast with his feet," Robin said before looking over at me.

"Not so much with his mouth," I finished.

"Dudes!" Wally exclaimed. I covered my mouth to stifle my giggles.

Up at the front, Kaldur and Superboy were whispering about something. More than likely about Superboy's behavior earlier.

"He'll come around," Robin told M'gann, who was still down about earlier.

"He doesn't seem to like me much," she said.

"You guys remember he has super hearing, right?" Wally asked. We all looked at Superboy, who didn't react as though he heard us.

"Hey, how about showing us a little Martian shape-shifting?" Robin suggested.

M'gann got up from her seat and transformed into a female version of Robin and then a female Kid Flash.

"Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?" Wally asked.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Completely wrong." Then M'gann transformed into a perfect copy of me.

"Impressive," Robin said, clapping. "But…you know you're not exactly gonna fool anyone with those."

"I don't know," Wally said. "She sure nailed Nora." He sent a wink my way before I turned my head to the side, hoping he wouldn't see me blush.

M'gann sat back down. "Mimicking boys is a lot harder."

"And your clothes…" Kaldur trailed off.

"They're organic like the ship." M'gann pulled on her jacket. "They respond to my mental commands."

"As long as they're the only ones," Superboy grumbled.

We were left in a small, uncomfortable silence. That is, until Wally broke it.

"Can you do that ghosting through walls thing that Manhunter does?"

"Density shifting? No. it's a very advanced technique," M'gann said sadly.

"Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall," Robin said with a laugh. "When he tries it, bloody nose."

"Dude!" I let out a giggle before Wally turned to me. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, Blue Eyes. Need I remind you about the time your powers were outta whack?"

I groaned while rubbing my temples. "Don't remind me. Worse headache of my life."

"Here's something I can do," M'gann said. The outside of the ship turned invisible. "Camouflage mode."

"_Red Tornado to Miss Martian. An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. I suggest you investigate, covertly. I'm sending coordinates."_

"Received. Adjusting course," M'gann said.

Robin scoffed. "Tornado's keeping us busy again."

"Well, a simply fire led you to Superboy," M'gann said as we hovered over the parking lot of the power plant. "We should found out what caused the alert."

"I think I know the cause," Superboy said, glancing out the window.

We looked and saw a tornado heading our way. It hit us, shaking the Bio-Ship violently. M'gann managed to fly the Bio-Ship out of the tornado and hovered over the ground, allowing us to jump out. A giant tornado was circling the factory.

"Robin, are tornados common in New England?" Kaldur asked. "Robin!" Of course. He just had to disappear. We heard his creepy laughter.

"He was just here," M'gann said.

"He does this," I told her. "A lot." I took off for the factory. The others followed behind me. I ran in just as Robin was blown back into a wall.

Superboy landed beside him. "Who's your new friend?"

"Didn't catch his name, but he plays kinda rough!" Robin exclaimed.

"My apologizes," a robotic voice said. "You may address me as Mr. Twister." I looked at the red and black robot. He had blue tubes connecting to his arms and was wearing a scarf.

He sent two tornados at us. Superboy bowed his head and started moving forward. Mr. Twister sent another tornado at him, sending Superboy into the wall.

We all stood up, bracing ourselves. Wally got out his goggles and put them on. Aqualad sent us a nod and we charged. Wally reached Mr. Twister first, attempting to kick him in the chest, but Mr. Twister blew him out of a window. M'gann and Kaldur charged at the tornado making villain, but they were blown back.

I concentrated on splitting the robot apart with my telekinesis, but having been so concentrated, I didn't notice a tornado being sent my way until I was blown back and hitting wall and landing next to M'gann.

"I was prepared to be challenged by a superhero," Mr. Twister said. "I was not, however, expecting children." Uh oh. I knew that wouldn't settle right with Robin.

"We're not children!" Robin shouted, throwing his birdarangs. One exploded, giving cover to the other as it lodged itself in Mr. Twister's chest. But he flicked it away like it was nothing.

"Objectively, you are." I got up and ran over to Robin. "Have you no adult supervision? I find your presence here quite disturbing." The others, except for Wally, assembled behind us.

"Well, we hate to see you disturbed," Robin shouted. "Let's see if you're more _turbed_ once we kick your can!" with that, M'gann used her telepathy to open a pipe above Mr. Twister, surrounding the robot with smoke. Superboy jumped up and went in for a hit, but Mr. Twister created two tornados and Superboy was blown back, crashing into M'gann.

Aqualad, Robin, and I ran for him, but we were each caught in a tornado and slammed into each other.

"Indeed. That was quite turbing," Mr. Twister said sarcastically. "Thank you." Then he flew out of the factory.

The five of us walked outside and saw Wally in a tornado.

"I got you, Wally," M'gann said, levitating him. She set him back on his feet.

"Whoa. Thanks," he replied.

"I would've thought you all would've learned your limitations by now," Mr. Twister said.

"What do you want?" Kaldur shouted.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mr. Twister used his powers to fly above the ground. "I'm waiting for a real hero."

"Read his mind," Kaldur told me and M'gann. "Find a weakness."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to do that," M'gann said.

"It's okay with the bad guys!" Robin exclaimed. M'gann and I concentrated, but I wasn't getting anything. No thought, no brain wave, nothing.

"I've got nothing," I said. I looked at M'gann. "You get anything?"

"Nothing," she said. "I'm getting nothing." Then she hit her forehead. "Hello Megan! Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise! He's inorganic, an android. And how many androids do you know that can generate tornados?"

Though M'gann did have a point, something still wasn't right about this. So this Mr. Twister was: a) Red Tornado in disguise, b) an android being controlled remotely, or c) there was another android inside this android that was being controlled remotely or programmed to do this. I was leaning towards b and c.

"Red Tornado sent us here," Kaldur said, obviously believing what M'gann said.

"After saying we'd be tested soon enough," Robin added angrily. "This is test! Something to keep us busy."

"Speedy called it. We're a joke," Wally threw in. Kaldur made a noise, punched his hand, and started stalking towards the android.

"This game, so over," Wally said as we followed.

"We know who you are and what you want!" Robin shouted.

"So let's end this," Kaldur said.

"Consider it ended," the tornado making android said darkly. Then he made a huge storm.

"An impressive show! But we will not indulge you. We will not engage!" Lightning cracked in the sky.

"Uh…can Red Tornado do that?" Wally asked.

"You think I'm Tornado? Ironic." More lightning flashed, striking the ground and creating an explosion that sent all of us flying back. I landed roughly, hitting my head and blacking out.

"What happened?" I heard Wally ask as I came to.

"I placed the Bio-Ship between us," M'gann explained.

I heard a crash before Superboy said angrily, "And that's supposed to make it right? You tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado."

"She didn't do it on purpose!" I said as I slowly stood up, swaying a bit. I felt someone put their arms around me for support. I looked and saw that it was Wally.

"It was a rookie mistake," Robin said. "We shouldn't have listened."

"You are pretty inexperienced," Wally said to M'gann. "Hit the showers. We'll take it from here."

"Stay out of our way," Superboy growled before he ran off in the direction Mr. Twister was heading with Robin following him.

"You okay?" Wally asked me.

"I'll be fine once the throbbing stops."

"You sure?"

I nodded, wincing a bit. "Yeah, now let's go. We can't let Superboy and Robin have all the fun."

"I'll go. You took a pretty bad hit to the head."

I rolled my eyes. "And I said I'll be fine."

"Doesn't matter. You're staying here."

"Why're you being so overprotective all of a sudden?"

"Does it matter? You're staying here."

"Whatever. Just go, Wally. Robin and Superboy are gonna need you."

"All right." Wally kissed my forehead quickly. "Just stay safe." Then he ran off, not noticing the blush on my cheeks. I turned my attention back to Kaldur and M'gann.

"I was just trying to be part of the team," M'gann said sadly, looking down.

"To be honest, I'm not sure we really have a team," Aqualad said before running after the others.

I walked up to M'gann and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Everyone's entitled to make a mistake every now and then."

"You guys don't," she said.

"Trust me, we do. If it's not during a mission, it's got something to do with our personal lives. I mean, you're still pretty new at this, so mistakes are gonna happen. I guess, because we're pros at doing this kinda stuff by now, the others forgot what it's like to be new at the hero stuff." I stood up slowly and held out my hand to her. "Come on. Let's head back to the cave and see what we can do to help the others."

She smiled at me and accepted my hand. We boarded the Bio-Ship and headed back to the cave. We decided to contact Red Tornado to see if he could help us with Mr. Twister.

"The team really needs your help," M'gann told Red Tornado.

"_If I intervened, it would not be to help,"_ the red android said. _"Still, it is an odd coincidence that this Twister shares my elemental abilities. And my immunity to telepathy."_

M'gann hit her head. "Hello Megan!"

I smiled. "If you're thinking that Mr. Twister is being controlled by an android on the inside, then we're thinking the same thing. I've been thinking about it for a while, actually. We need a plan and we need to inform the team."

M'gann smiled. "I think I have a plan."

* * *

We flew to where Mr. Twister was heading. M'gann used camouflage mode so we wouldn't be seen and we contacted the team.

"_Listen to me,_" she said. _"All of you."_

"What did we tell you?" I heard Superboy yell.

"_I know! And I know I messed up, but now I'm very clear on what we need to do. Please, trust me."_

"_Then tell us the plan that you've kept me in suspense for,"_ I said with a smirk on my face.

"_Here's what we need to do…"_

I turned invisible and phased out of the Bio-Ship, regrouping with the others.

"Did you guys have fun while I was gone?" I smirked at them.

"Not as much fun as it would be if you were here, beautiful," Wally said flirtatiously as Red Tornado appeared.

"Hit the showers, you five," he said. "I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly, you cannot."

"But we've got a plan now," Robin protested.

"The subject is not up for debate."

We walked off. As soon as we were out of their line of sight, we all hid. Wally and I hid behind some crates as we watched as Red Tornado went down.

Twister approached Tornado and cables came out of his fingers. Tornado suddenly grabbed the cables and his head morphed into M'gann's. Our turn now.

Wally caught Mr. Twister in a tornado and sent him over to Superboy, who gave a couple of punches, sending the robot to the water. There was an explosion, courtesy of Aqualad, and he flew out of the water.

M'gann and I destroyed his arms. Then Robin used a couple of birdarangs to finish him off. There was an explosion and Twister fell to the ground. We stood in front of the robot and watched as his chest opened to reveal a man, who fell out of the robot.

"Foul. I-I call foul," he said. M'gann levitated a large rock.

"M'gann, no!" Kaldur cried, but it was too late. M'gann dropped the rock on top of the man.

Robin approached M'gann angrily. "Don't know how things are done on Mars, but on Earth, we don't execute our captives!"

"You guys said you'd trust her," I told them before levitating the rock up, revealing destroyed pieces of a robot.

"That's why Nora and I couldn't read his mind," M'gann said.

Wally bent down and picked up the robot's eyeball. "Cool. Souvenir."

Kaldur placed a hand on M'gann's shoulder. "We should've had more faith in you."

"Yeah," Wally agreed. "You rocked this mission! Get it, rocked?"

"Ignore him," Robin said. "We're all just turbed you're on the team."

"Thanks," M'gann said. "Me too."

* * *

"It was clearly created to sabotage or destroy you," Aqualad told Red Tornado. By the time we cleaned up all the pieces of the other robot, the sun had set. We gathered in the Mission Room and told Red Tornado everything that went on with Twister.

"Agreed," Red Tornado said.

"Is that why you wouldn't help us?" M'gann asked.

"No. This was your battle. I do not believe it is my role to solve your problems for you. Nor should you solve mine for me."

"But if you're in danger…" M'gann tried.

"Consider this matter closed," Tornado interrupted her. We watched as he walked away.

"Batman, Aquaman, Flash, and Element, they would've jumped right in to fix things," Wally said.

"Guess if we're gonna have a babysitter, a heartless machine is exactly what we need," Robin gestured to the android.

"Dude, harsh."

"And inaccurate," Red Tornado said. "I have a heart. Carbon steel alloy. I also have excellent hearing."

Robin let out a nervous laugh. "Right, sorry. I'll strive to be…more accurate."

"And more respectful," Kaldur added, placing his hand on Robin's shoulder.

"You know, Speedy was wrong," I said as we made our way out of the room.

"Most definitely, babe." Wally smiled at me.

"This team thing…" Robin started.

"Might just work out," Kaldur finished.

* * *

**And that's chapter 3. I hope you liked that little overprotective Wally scene. Let me know if you have a comment or question and I'll be happy to straighten things out for you.**


	4. Drop-Zone

**Hey guys! I managed to get the episodes to load! I'm really happy I got to upload this chapter and I hope you like it.**

**I don't own Young Justice or the characters, but I wish I did.**

* * *

**CARIBBEAN SEA  
****July 22, 20:08 ECT**

We soared over the Caribbean Sea in silence. Robin was sitting to my right, Kid Flash was on my left, Miss Martian was at the controls, Aqualad was sitting to her left, and Superboy was sitting on her right.

"We're approaching Santa Prisca," Miss Martian told us.

I thought back to what Batman had said about this mission. It was our first mission as a team. And there was just one thing we didn't know for sure; who was going to be the leader.

I knew for sure that it would have to be me, Aqualad, Kid, or Robin.

Aqualad could most definitely be our leader. He was calm and thought things through. If every came down to a vote, he had mine.

Kid Flash, on the other hand, is like Aqualad's opposite. Kid had that confident attitude that a leader should have, but he's immature and I don't think he could handle leading a team.

If it came down to experience wise, it would just be me and Robin. Robin, most definitely, had all the natural qualities of a leader. But, like KF, he was still a bit immature, something you still expected from a thirteen year old. Robin wasn't ready to be leader, not yet at least.

As for me, I didn't think I'd make a good leader. I was confident, thought things through, had the experience, held a calm front times, being the typical hero with the banter, but there are times when I can be a bit short tempered, plus I just wanted to be a good hero. Sure, my dad was the leader of the Justice League, but that doesn't mean I had to follow in his footsteps.

"Drop-zone A in thirty," Miss Martian's voice shook me out of my thoughts. Aqualad stood up, his seat dissolving. He pressed the Atlantean symbol on his belt, turning his red shirt into a gray one.

"Ready," he said.

"Putting Bio-Ship in camouflage mode." I looked straight ahead as Aqualad jumped out, head first into the ocean below us.

"_Heat and motion sensors are patched. Data is now on a continuous loop. Move in."_

Miss Martian flew the Bio-Ship until we were above our drop-zone.

"Drop-zone B," she said. We stood up, our chairs dissolving as we did so. A line appeared in front of the others. I didn't need it, considering I could float down. Robin and Kid hooked the lines to their clothes.

Kid pressed his symbol on his chest and his changed to black and gray. "How cool is this?"

"Very impressive," Miss Martian said. She concentrated and her clothes changed to a black body suit.

"Uh-that works too."

"Hers is much cooler," I pointed out.

"How come you haven't activated your stealth tech?"

"Because I'm already wearing dark colors. If you haven't noticed, midnight blue is pretty dark."

"Good point. Hey Supey, not too late to put on the new stealth tech."

"No capes, no tights, no offense," Superboy said, crossing his arms.

"It totally works for you," Miss Martian said, dreamily. She snapped out of it. "In that you can totally do good work in those clothes." Then she put on her hood and turned invisible.

Aw, she so likes him.

A hole in the bottom of the ship opened up and Miss Martian and I floated down with Kid and Robin behind us. We moved out of the way as Superboy landed on the ground roughly.

"Knew I didn't need a line," he said.

"And yet, creating a seismic event may not have helped us much with the covert," Robin said from his place on the ground. We regrouped near Superboy.

Miss Martian said as she floated down, "Aqualad, Drop B is go."

"_Head for the factory,"_ Aqualad responded. _"I'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."_

Robin pulled up a holographic map. "Rodger that." Then we took off for the factory.

We passed by a waterfall. Kid and Robin climbed up the rock, Superboy jumped up, and Miss M and I flew up. We made it back into the forest.

"Did you hear that?" Superboy whispered suddenly.

"Uh, no," KF whispered back. "Wait. Is this a super hearing thing?"

"You do have great ears," Miss M sighed dreamily.

"Okay Rob, now what?" Kid asked. I looked around and saw nothing. "Man, I hate it when he does that."

"Again?" I groaned.

"_Superboy, Kid, switch to infrared,"_ Aqualad said. _"See if you're being tracked."_

Kid put on his goggles. "Got a squad of armed bozos incoming." Kid and Superboy went ahead to get a closer look. Miss Martian and I followed them.

"Two squads," Superboy corrected. "But they'll meet each other before they find us." Then we heard gunfire.

"No super hearing required now," KF said.

"_Swing wide, steer clear,"_ Aqualad warned.

"Yeah, yeah, just as soon as I find Rob." Kid rushed on ahead.

The rest of us followed just as the gun firing got quiet. Then it started again. Superboy went after this large guy. I think his name was Bane.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Robin jump out of a tree.

"What is wrong with you guys?" he yelled. "Remember covert? Why didn't you follow my lead? Vanish into the jungle."

I rolled my eyes as I dodged a guy and gave him a kick in the back.

"That's what you were doing?" Kid asked, kicking a goon. "Way to fill us in. We're not mind readers, you know." He looked behind him as Miss M and I telekinetically threw some guys. "Er, I'm not anyway."

"You told me I could only read the bad guys' minds," Miss Martian defended.

Aqualad appeared and finished off the last guy, who was trying to get away. We regrouped and tied up everyone to the trees.

"I recognize those uniforms," Robin said. "They belong to the Cult of the Kobra."

"I am certain Batman would've mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's Venom operation," Aqualad said.

"Agreed. And since there's clearly no love lost between the cultists and those goons, I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out. That's why normal supply lines have been cut off."

"We get it," Kid Flash said. "Kobra wanted super cultists. Mystery solved. Radio Bats and we'll be home in time for—"

"These cultists aren't on venom." Robin turned to Kid. "Kobra's hoarding this stuff. We don't leave. Not until I know why."

"Until _you_ know why?"

"This team needs a leader," Robin said.

"And it's you?" Kid pointed at him. "Dude, you're a thirteen-year-old kid who ducked out on us without a word."

Robin cackled. "And you're a mature fifteen? You blew our cover first chance you got."

I sighed from my place next to Aqualad. "Will those two ever grow up? this isn't exactly the time or place to have a fight."

"No, it isn't," Aqualad agreed with me. "I am curious, though. Do you want to be leader?"

I shook my head. "Nah. I may have the qualities you may think would make a good leader, but all I want to do is be a hero and give people a sense of security. Besides, do you know how much protesting there would be from those two?" I gestured to the fighting Kid Flash and Robin. "We should probably break them up now." He nodded and was about to until Bane started laughing.

"Such clever, niños, but you only know half the story," he said. "Let me show you the rest. Get you into the factory via my secret entrance."

We regrouped in front of Bane and Miss Martian squatted down. "There is a secret entrance, but he's also hiding something."

"Let me try," I said, kneeling next to her. I concentrated hard.

"Ah, ah, ah, chica. Bane is not that easy." He smirked.

I let out a frustrated groan. "He's mentally reciting football scores in Español. This could take a while."

"It's not complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Aqualad gave Robin a nod and the Boy Wonder went to untie Bane.

* * *

Bane, being the only one we untied, led us through the bushes and trees to a cliff. He pointed ahead to where the factory was. KF and Robin got closer. Robin took out his binoculars.

"Look at all that product," he whispered. "A buy is going down. But if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects, then—"

"We need to identify that buyer," Aqualad said.

Kid pushed his goggles up. "Just what I was thinking."

"Yeah!" Robin laughed. "You're the thinker." Not again.

"Sarcasm? Dude. A real leader would focus on getting answers."

I looked at Bane, who was moving a huge boulder that was blocking the secret entrance.

He gestured inside. "Answers are this way."

Kid put his hands on his waist. "So now El Luchador is our leader!" Robin smacked him as he walked in. I shook my head and walked next to Kid as we followed Bane inside the creepy tunnel.

"Will you just grow up?" I whispered to him.

"Oh, so you're on his side?" Kid whispered back, gesturing to Robin.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not on anyone's side. The both of you are acting like little kids. This is the very reason why neither one of you could be leader."

"And you think you could?"

I crossed my arms. "No way. I would eventually crack. I wouldn't make a good leader."

Before Kid could say anything, Bane opened up a steel door and we found ourselves inside the factory.

Robin peeked out. "All clear!" Then he took off and did his disappearing act.

"Has that little fool already been caught?" Bane asked.

"No," Aqualad said. "He just does that."

"A lot," I muttered.

Kid slipped on his goggles. "Stay put. I'll get our intel and be back before the Boy Wonder."

"Wait Kid!" Aqualad tried to stop him, but he was too late. KF took off.

"Great chain of command," Bane commented.

We got closer to the crates to see if we could spot the buyer.

"It's a massive shipment," Aqualad said.

"Yeah, but they're only taking new product off the line," Superboy pointed out. "They're not touching this venom."

"But why?" I asked.

"Maybe freshness counts?" Miss Martian suggested.

"Helicopter coming," Superboy said, looking up. We followed his gaze and saw the helicopter.

"Miss Martian and I can check it out," I said, turning invisible. Miss M and I flew over just as the helicopter door opened. I stifled a gasp.

The buyer was Sportsmaster!

Sportsmaster walked up to Kobra and said, "Lord Kobra."

"Sportsmaster," Kobra said. "The shipment is ready." The girl next Kobra stepped forward and opened a case.

Sportsmaster took out a vile of blue liquid. "The new Kobra venom?"

"A complete success." Kobra gestured to the thing next to him. This creature was large with its skin ripped. "Our friends will not be disappointed."

"This is a game changer. Finally, we can go mono-a-mono with the Justice League."

"_Aqualad, sending you a telepathic image of the buyer now,"_ Miss Martian said.

"_It's Sportsmaster,"_ I told her. Then we heard gunshots from inside the factory.

The creature crashed through the factory window while the Kobra cultists entered through the door.

I flew inside and appeared next to Aqualad as the creature roared.

"Destroy them," Kobra ordered. The mutant creature came at us, but Superboy was handling him. The guards came at me and Aqualad.

Once they started shooting, I hid behind Aqualad's water shield and telekinetically threw them.

I noticed that Sportsmaster came in. he was focusing on something in the air, which I assumed was Miss Martian, who was throwing guards just like I was. Sportsmaster started to throw something at her and I flew in front of her, redirecting the harpoon-like object so it would miss us by inches. Only it blew up and sent us flying back on large metal barrels.

"You okay, Miss M?" I asked.

"I'm fine," she said. "Why did you do that?"

"Well, I can't let my friend get blown to bits, now can I?" I smiled a bit. She smiled back.

"Miss Martian, radio is jammed," Aqualad said. "Link us up!"

"_Everyone online?"_ Miss Martian's voice rang in my head.

"_Yeah,"_ Superboy said reluctantly.

"_You know it, beautiful,"_ Kid Flash said.

"_Shadow, are you all right?"_ Aqualad asked me.

"_Besides the bump on my head, just dandy,"_ I told him.

"_Good. We need to regroup."_

"_Busy now,"_ Robin said.

"_Robin! Now!"_ I saw Aqualad use his water whips to take down some guards. _"We need to retreat. Kid, clear a path."_

Kid ran ahead, knocking guards down. We all followed him, except for Superboy, who was still dealing with that mutant creature thing.

We ran through the metal door and waited for Superboy. Once he joined us, he shut the door and locked it. Then we ran, but the mutant thing smashed through it and the guards were shooting at us.

"Superboy, the support beams!" Aqualad shouted. Superboy smashed the beams, causing rock to cave in.

It was dark and I couldn't really see in front of me until an eerie red glow lit up the cave. Aqualad was holding up a glow stick.

"How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?" Robin sighed in frustration.

"You do have the most experience," Aqualad said. "But perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined. You two do not need to talk. But this team is new, and a leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hands?" Robin yelled, whirling around. "Who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur. You're the only one who can."

"Please, I can run circles—"

I slapped my hand over Kid's mouth. "Wally, come on. You know he's the one. We all do."

"Hello Megan!" Miss M said. "It's so obvious."

"Could've told ya," Superboy threw in.

Kid looked at me before looking at Aqualad. "Okay," he stated, smiling.

Aqualad walked over to Robin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then I accept the burden until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders. You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now, but soon." Robin nodded.

Aqualad turned to us. "All right, our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving this island."

"Funny," Robin said. "I had the same thought."

We exchanged the information that we gathered. Robin and Kid told us about the Blockbuster Venom while Aqualad told them about Sportsmaster being the buyer. Then we ran off, discussing our plan as we went.

"Sportsmaster's the supplier-slash-buyer, but it still doesn't track," Robin said, looking at his holo-computer. "He doesn't have the juice to acquire the Blockbuster formula or to get Kobra to do his dirty work."

"And neither of them have the chops to bond Blockbuster with Venom," Kid Flash said. "That took some major nerdage."

"I believe the expression is…" Aqualad said, coming to a stop, "tip of the iceberg."

Bane appeared on the outside of the tunnel and dropped some cartridges on the ground. "Halt, niños," he said. "I'm feeling…_explosive._"

I heard a beeping from above and took notice of the bombs. That's just lovely.

"You betrayed us!" Aqualad said. "Why?"

"I want my factory back."

"_Kid, you need a running start,"_ Aqualad's voice said through my head. The speedster barely nodded and took a few steps back further into the cave.

"So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies, or die trying. If the latter, the Justice League would certainly have come to avenge their sidekicks. And when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more. Blowing the tunnel with you inside," Bane held up the detonator and KF sped by in a blur, swiping it without Bane even noticing, "should have the effect." He pressed his thumb down on nothing.

"With what?" Kid asked, leaning against a tree in a cocky manner. "This trigger thingy?"

Bane let out a roar of anger and went to punch Kid, but I acted quickly and lifted him up in the air. The rest walked out of the tunnel, and Superboy walked forward and stopped right underneath Bane.

"Finally," he said with a smirk. "Drop him."

"With pleasure," I said as I did so. Superboy gave Bane a good punch to knock him out.

* * *

After discussing the plan, we went back to the factory. Kid was the first to attack, knocking out some cultists. Superboy was next, landing in front of the helicopter Sportsmaster was heading to.

"Go again?" Superboy smirked at the mammoth mutant creature thing. It roared and charged. Kid tackled the goon in the way while Aqualad sent a jet of water towards the creature, knocking it to the side.

"Sorry, not the plan," Superboy said, smiling at Aqualad. Then Superboy was getting shot at by Sportsmaster.

Miss Martian and I were invisible. Miss M was about to continue with the plan, but Sportsmaster somehow knew she was there and ended up having his arm around her neck while pinning down Superboy with gunfire.

Sportsmaster backed his way into the helicopter. "Thanks for the work out, but I—ah!" I phased my hands through the gun, shorting it out. He dropped Miss Martian and she flew over to Superboy.

I managed to plant the bomb, but I wasn't so lucky when the doors closed and it took off. I phased through the helicopter and got a few feet away before it exploded. A small piece of debris hit me in the back of my head, causing me to lose my concentration, and I fell out of the sky.

The ground was coming fast, but I managed to slow myself down enough for Kid to run and catch me.

"You okay?" he asked as he put me on my feet.

"Not really," I said as I nearly lost my balance. Kid quickly grabbed my upper arms. "That blow to the head really screw me up. My head's seriously pounding."

"Take it easy then." He scooped me up in his arms and raced us back to the others.

We surrounded Kobra, who had Robin pinned down with his foot.

"I am plagued by mosquitoes," he said.

"Good! Cause this mosquito is mighty concerted over your pain," Robin managed to say. He also managed to get himself from under Kobra's foot and joined us.

Kobra looked at us before he said, "Another time then." And then he disappeared into the jungle. Robin raced over to see if Kobra was there, but had no such luck.

He turned around and walked over to Aqualad with a smirk on his face, saying, "We picked the right guy to lead. Automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman!" He gestured to the burning factory building before he laughed.

* * *

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****July 23, 01:06 EDT**

We were dressed in our civilian clothes, lined up, and Batman stood in front of us. My head was still hurting, just not as extreme as the day before. The order we stood in was Kaldur, Robin, me, Wally, M'gann, and then Superboy.

"A simple recon mission, observe and report," Batman said directly in Aqualad's face. "You'll each receive a written evaluation detailing your _many_ mistakes. Until then…good job." I looked up from the ground and looked at Batman. Did he just say we did a good job? "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success. And how you choose who leads…determines character."

I exchanged a smile with Wally. This was awesome. We're really a team.

* * *

**So there's chapter four. I'm sorry if it's on the short side. I didn't mean for it to be. I hope you guys keep on reviewing because I really like hearing your opinions.**


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